My stay in Messejana in Portugal’s Alentejo region was an absolute joy. Great co-residents (all artists), wonderful Buinho personal, and incredibly friendly people. Its beauty was such that I couldn’t be content just working there—I decided the region had to be the birthplace of one of the main characters of The Chronicle of the Palm’s (see below on the main page) volumes 2 and 3 before she made her way to Lisbon. As such, everything from the nesting storks to 17th-century buildings to the Alentejo specialty of Iberian pork (fed the acorns of cork oaks) found its way into her backstory. Going back next year, so more to come!